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Further to my previous blog post in relation to Lorella Zanardo campaign against the inappropriate use of women’s bodies in Italian media, I would like to add that not only do we have this problem in Europe (Italian media)! Today, the Telegraph published a report on a Vietnamese airline being fined for mid flight bikini show, simply because the airline did not ask permission! Surely this stunt just opens another can of worms about the inappropriate use of women’s bodies for public viewing and perhaps campaigns such as the ones of Lorella Zanardo should be used around the world!

Asda (British Supermarket) has recently been cleared of hundreds of sexist complaints brought against them for an advert at Christmas. The advert demonstrated a woman preparing Christmas dinner and was backed with the slogan “behind every Christmas there’s a mum”.

Most of the complaints deemed the advert as ‘sexist’ and “outdated gender stereotypes”. Some complaints were that the add was also distressing for children who didn’t have a mother. (Ref)

British people here feel that miss-representation of women on the television could be as simple as saying something that implies something only about women, whereas in Italy, the problem is a lot more graphic! If this Asda advert was in Italy, I doubt Italians would even consider this as a form of sexism, but that’s only in my opinion.

I came across another example of a woman of three daughters who slammed Top Gear (a television program about cars). The reason: In the top gear trailer the women are only tasked with making the men and their outfits look good! This outraged the mother as she believed women are being mis-represented on British Television! (Ref)

This idea of sexism in Britain is interesting, especially after watching Italian media and reading about Lorella Zanardo’s “il corpo delle donne” campaign.

Comparing the two types of media, I believe many questions should be raised. “Where is the line and how do we draw that line?” In other words, at what point does something become sexist or not become sexist? Is it a matter of Culture?

On Monday 28th January 2013 at about 13:00 Italy time I was listening to Radio Deejay Italia. It was a random choice to tune in, and when I did I heard a strange comical type character speak about his father’s nightclub business with the DJs. I don’t believe this character was real nor was this nightclub as it seemed to be a bit of a joke; however, that was not the point. The issue that struck me was that this character spoke openly and explicitly about his father’s nightclub and the ability to purchase women for sexual favors The Italian language that was used (and some English words) was filthy.

It never seizes to shock me or surprise me that the fact Italian media, again, are discussing this sort of thing which degrades women (and men to a certain degree) AND doing this at a time when a child could be at home or in the car potentially listening to this radio station. So I decided to discuss this issue with some of my Italian friends who were online on my social network profile.

I had an interesting response from the females, who all happened to be Italian immigrants living in Ireland (except for one) who all agreed with me that Italian media is sexist. I have yet to hear back from men on this matter! Perhaps the males don’t care enough for this problem and If so, why not? If you are male and you are reading this I would like to propose to you a question: The Italian media represent women in a humiliating way, how would you feel if the veline on strisia la notizia or the girls that were spoke about in a sexual way on the radio were your sisters, your mother or your daughters? OR better still, imagine the tables had turned and females degraded your body in public view, what would you make of this situation?

In my previous post about Lorella Zanardo and women’s bodies I briefly mentioned that a darker side of Italian politics had been revealed to me with reference to Berlusconi. I would like to emphasise that it is not only women he seeks to humiliate but his flighty behaviour has also allowed him to express his fascist ideas.

What is feminism? According to a Google search on the definition described above and in short it is about equality of women TO men.

Some people have very different views on what feminism really is, some people would consider me to be a feminist and others not. If the foundation of feminism is equality then women should not be equal to men but men and women should be equal to each other.The wording might not seem important to you but in reality and in practice it makes a difference. I do not believe that women are entitled to special privileges over men, nor do I believe the contrary. Therefore if being a feminist implies this and for those who do not have a decent insight who may think this, then I would like to state that I am not a feminist. I prefer to state I am an Equalist.

In fact, I support equal rights for all, between black and white people, between cultures, between religions, between ages, between social classes and between sexes.

Due to my recent discovery of this wonderful woman Lorella Zanardo and my fondness for the Italian people and culture I am putting a little emphasis on equality between the sexes. Without this woman or without this type of strong female character today in Italy, the sexism demonstrated in Italian media might have a future.

Lorella Zanardo and Women’s Bodies.

Watching Italian Television for the first time was most certainly an unforgettable experience. The visuals of camera tricks revealing intimate parts of almost-naked dancing girls had shocked me as I chewed on my spaghetti al mare. At first, I believed these images were a one off occasion. However, seeing the objectification of women in advertisements for products such as wine and yogurt, I realized that it didn’t stop at Italian Television and it was evident that it was an integral part of Italian media.After the shock, I was surprised; I simply could not believe that a country so close to the Vatican, headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church could allow such media to be transmitted across the country during the day. However this was simply not a rebellion on religious morals, there was more to it than that. In fact, a darker side of Italian politics had been revealed to me. Berlusconi not only famous for his bunga bunga parties, he also happened to prime minister, has owned and still owns a huge proportion of Italian media. Surely such a rich and powerful man has a lot of influence on his media?After the surprise, I was angry at the situation after all, how could a country that I love so much, which has so much to offer, allow this sort of humiliation for women? I challenged my Italian friends and partner about this issue. Some of them didn’t see it as a problem as they didn’t know any other form of media, shrugging their shoulders and saying ‘e’ cosi’ (It’s like this)! Others explained that if you’re brought up right you know the difference between T.V and real life and others would just say they don’t watch T.V. This led me to feelings of frustration.I actually felt sorry for Italians, as It is very unfortunate that a lot of Italians didn’t/don’t know any different and they thought this was normal! But ‘E’ cosi!’ simply was not enough for me. After all, why should the Italian children be exposed to this rubbish day in and day out? This is bound to have an effect on children and adult’s ideas and views on women and not only for women but for the boys and men. What message is the media sending out about Italian men? As someone who is so fond of Italy and fond of the Italian culture, I find it such a let-down that the media present the culture in this way and I am frightened that maybe one day my future children may grow up surrounded by this sort of media.Then recently, I came across an inspiring woman called Lorella Zanardo. Her brave speeches, her documentary ‘il corpo delle donne’ and her public work has given me a reason to believe again, that one day, sooner rather than later, the Italian media and therefore the perception of Italian women and men can be reformed and any form of existing chauvinism can be kicked out of Italy. Lorella Zanardo is truly an exceptional woman who has demonstrated by her own work that Italian women can speak up and speak out, that they do have a voice and that the power and strength of woman can overcome such obstacles especially within chauvinistic media production. She is a true example of strength and courage and indeed, is one of my idols. She is an excellent example for young women and I wish to spread the word of her good work, after all, every little helps!